Cross country is a common sport, and it is a very popular sport among the Stratford middle school students. After interviewing some students, I’ve found that some people joined because they wanted to join a sport, because they loved running, or their parents made them join. As for the races, we have four races this year, with the longest one being 2.03 miles, and many students are nervous and excited about the race, with the soonest one being on September 30, at Guadalupe Oak Park. This year, most of the people joining are returning seventh graders, with some returning or new eighth graders and new sixth-graders. There are two coaches this year, Coach Anderson and Coach Harris. The warmups for the sport are the same as last year, with a few laps around the blacktop, and then the routine high-knee marches, high knees, skips, strides, etc. Coach Anderson has been coaching various sports for ten years, and has been doing cross country for four years. Coach Harris has been coaching cross country for high school for two years, and has done varsity wrestling for four years. So far, the cross country team has had 6 first places, 2 second places, and many third places.
